Int'l art fest at TUK promises 'shocking' acts
By Rudy Madanir
JAKARTA (JP): Those who frequently skip chances to see performance art in Jakarta should not miss this festival starting today (Thursday) at Teater Utan Kayu (TUK), Jakarta.
Featuring 25 local and foreign artists, the theater, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, will host the first Jakarta International Performance Art Festival (JIPAF) from March 2 until March 4.
Unlike performing art, the nature of performance art, which usually does not require a conventional stage, is still open for debate and has not been satisfactorily defined in Indonesia and elsewhere in the region. While in western countries, it started in the 1960's.
JIPAF coordinator Arahmaiani said performance art could be easily seen as a mixture of any art forms, including music, dance and theater. Its theme is free -- as free as the human mind can go.
The theme or message can be economic, social, and political issues, which have become the favorite of artists from developing countries such as Indonesia. Or it can be very individual or private as is popular in the West.
As it is so wide open to be explored, sometimes people consider some performance art "radical" or "provocative".
Undoubtedly, Jakarta's public, which has been becoming tired of the social and political themes of most performance art in the country, will find this festival refreshing.
The themes, when combined with the personal creativity involved in expressing it, vary quite widely and are not only limited to current affairs, but also others which are maybe quite unfamiliar here. They span from the inner subconscious of Thing About Proto Memory by the Japanese artist Nishijima Kazuhiro to the capitalist-realist Postprop-Agitrop, which will be performed by Ray Langenbach from the U.S.
Some performances will likely be quite "shocking". Several artists will go naked in expressing their art.
Take an example of Ma Liu Ming of China in his work titled Fen-Ma Liu Ming in Jakarta. He will allow serious onlookers, with or without clothes, to take a photograph with him. He will be nude throughout his performance.
As he has done this performance sitting on a couch for 14 times in various countries, Ma Liu Ming is eager to share and exchange experience with the Jakarta public.
Japanese female artist Mamiko Kawabata will throw her clothing of piece by piece in a performance called Kiss Me Please, exploring the phenomenon of sex workers.
She says about her performance, "I am not an artist, I am a sex worker." She will perform this evening.
Nudity, of course, will be just one of the means of expression at this inaugural festival. The majority of the artists will obviously show up with their clothes on, or at least not stark naked.
Gigantic tongue
Amanda Heng from Singapore in her Let's Walk, will use a round mirror to show her face with a gigantic tongue protruding from her mouth down to her chest. She will walk barefoot while looking at the mirror. She tries to portray the suffering of a modern woman.
For Amanda, today's women are risking their health by wearing high heels just to look sexy.
Unlike Amanda, Thai artist Chumpon Apisuk will invite the audience to interact in his work titled Present Continuous (Of True Stories of 1999). Using an audio recorder, he will make them a major part of his performance.
Another Thai performer, Padungsok Kochsomrong, will present I am Fine, Thank You. How Are You, to question his government's stance on social and economic problems in his country.
Five Indonesian artists are taking part in the festival. Padang Ilalang Group from Yogyakarta will stage their Ubiquitous Bloodbath, inspired by the frequent occurrence of human rights violations in Indonesia. The others are Gigih Wiyono with his Visum Et Repertum, Isa Perkasa (My Offspring Will Surely Ask Me Why), and Iwan Wijono (Liberalism Celebration And Speech).
Arahmaini, who has performed in many countries, will present His-Story.
You can enjoy all of the shows for free. No reservations are required. But as the theater only accommodates 100 people, including the 40 artists and crew, you are recommended to come early to get a seat.
Following is the lineup of the festival. Performances will be held from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. and are limited to a maximum of 20 minutes.
March 2: Yuan Mor'O (the Philippines), Iwan Wijono (Indonesia), Mamiko Kawabata (Japan), Boris Nieslony (Germany), Padungsak Kochsomrong (Thailand), Kazuhiro Nishijima (Japan), Jason Lim (Singapore) and Arahmaiani (Indonesia).
March 3: Amanda Heng (Singapore), Sinichi Arai (Japan), Nao Bustamante (USA), Chumpon Apisuk (Thailand), Kaori Haba (Japan), Richard Martel (Canada), Yukio saegus (Japan) and Gigih Wiyono (Indonesia).
March 4: Padang Ilalang Group (Indonesia), Mami Tanikawa (Japan), Ronaldo Ruiz (The Philippines), Ma Li Ming (China), Paisan Plienbachang (Thailand), Ray Langenbach (USA), Akiko Izumi (Japan), Isa Perkasa (Indonesia) and Seiji Shimoda (Japan).
The organizers have also invited several foreign artists to speak on performance arts in their respective countries. These talks will also take place at TUK, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. every day.